The twentieth century was a dynamic period in the history of Russia. In that century, Russia saw the fall of the 300-year Romanov dynasty, the rise and fall of the 70-year reign of the Soviet Union, and the turbulent formation of the Russian Federation. Russia saw revolution, civil war, two war worlds, purges under Joseph […]

Throughout the Cold War to the present day, there has been tension between the United States and Russia in the political arena. However, Americans have used Russian music in creating elements of American popular culture. Appropriated Russian songs include classical pieces like “The Flight of the Bumblebee,” which is often used to represent speed and […]

Opera is one of the most remarkable art forms that have been created in cultural history. Opera combines all the elements of the arts (music, theater, visual and performing arts) into one memorable production. Ever since Mikhail Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar, the Russian School of musical composition would make an impact on the […]

Programmatic symphonic pieces are symphonic compositions where composers would adapt material from poems, books, plays, artworks, nature scenes, or emotional states into music within these works. These musical works are symphonic in form, however the traditional rules of music theory and composition were not the only necessary tools needed to determine the form of these […]

Summer Chopin Concerts Łazienki Park Free Lazienki-krolewskie.pl Want to soak in some classical music with that summer sun? You’re in luck! From mid-May to September, you can catch Chopin concerts every Sunday in the Royal Łazienki Park next to the Chopin Monument. And the best part? It’s FREE. The first showing is at noon, the […]

Mariinsky Theater/Мариинский театр Театральная площадь, д. 1 Metro Садовая www.mariinsky.ru The Mariinsky Theater has gotten a lot of press lately with the controversial opening of the new Mariinsky stage. Many residents of St. Petersburg have complained that the new Mariinsky stage is hideous and does not fit with the style of the city. Some have […]